USA - China said it is “concerned” by Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement for a second time. “Climate change is a common challenge faced by all of humanity, and no country can remain unaffected or solve the problem on its own,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said. In 2006, China overtook the US to become the world’s largest annual emitter of greenhouse gases and by 2019 the nation was emitting more greenhouse gases than the entire developed world combined, according to research by the Rhodium Group. “I’m immediately withdrawing from the unfair, one-sided Paris Climate Accord rip-off,” Mr Trump said to cheering supporters during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena. “The United States will not sabotage our own industries while China pollutes with impunity.”

MIDDLE EAST - The war in Gaza must and will resume. It’s just a question of when. The newly brave terrorists of Hamas have not yet had their full dose of medicine. Until yesterday the survivors of Hamas’s terror army were skulking inside what’s left of their tunnel network, hiding in civilian houses, mosques, schools and hospitals or embedding themselves into humanitarian areas on the coast. They disguised themselves as civilians, sometimes dressed as women and journalists and never daring to openly carry weapons above ground. Today they are out on the streets of Gaza proudly wearing their green bandanas and combat uniforms while flaunting assault rifles and rocket launchers.

USA - Donald Trump said earlier that he is “not confident” the Gaza ceasefire deal will be upheld. Responding to questions while signing executive orders in the Oval Office earlier, the president said: “That’s not our war, it’s their war. But I’m not confident.” Mr Trump, however, said he believed Hamas had been “weakened”. The real estate mogul added that Gaza, which now looked like “a massive demolition site”, could see a “fantastic” reconstruction. “Gaza is interesting. It’s a phenomenal location on the sea - the best weather. You know, everything’s good. Some beautiful things could be done with it,” he said.

USA - Donald Trump has vowed to sign “close to 100” executive orders within hours of taking office later today. The directives are set to include actions to curb immigration, increase import tariffs, halt US government diversity policies and deregulate sectors including energy and cryptocurrencies. The role of the Department of Government Efficiency - to be led by Elon Musk - will also be outlined, US media reported. “Starting tomorrow, I will act with historic speed of strength and fix every single crisis facing our country,” Mr Trump told supporters during a triumphant rally in Washington on Sunday.

USA - Donald Trump is planning a revolution. Never mind FDR’s “100 days”; the new boss proposes 100 executive orders on day one, cutting the state, disarming woke and expelling illegal immigrants (all of them, he hopes).Trump has TR’s vigour and Cal Coolidge’s agenda. Expect a fiery speech followed by a dizzying round of executive orders to repeal the Biden years and deconstruct the administrative state. Close the border, revive travel bans, suspend refugee admissions, expel illegals, end birthright citizenship, pardon January 6 rioters, scrap climate subsidies, cease promoting electric cars, “drill, baby, drill”, audit regulations, ban transgender women from sports, shut down the federal diversity drive, and cut funding to schools that promote critical race theory. Oh, and bring peace to Ukraine within 24 hours.

USA - US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said her department will take “extraordinary measures” to prevent the US from hitting the national debt limit on Tuesday, one day after President-elect Donald Trump takes office. In a letter to Congress on Friday, Yellen explained that the US will hit its roughly $36 trillion debt limit between January 14 and January 23, potentially leading to a default.

ISRAEL - Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, walked to Red Cross vehicles as their convoy moved through Gaza City after 15 months in captivity. The deal ushers in an initial six-week period of calm and raises hopes for the release of dozens of militant-held hostages and an end to the devastating 15-month war. A last-minute delay by Hamas put off the truce's start by nearly three hours and highlighted its fragility. The truce, which started at 11:15 am local time, is the first step toward ultimately ending the conflict and returning nearly 100 hostages abducted in Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack. Netanyahu on Saturday warned that he had Trump's backing to continue fighting if necessary.

ISRAEL - Israel in crisis hours after ceasefire as far-right minister quits with chilling warning. Itamar Ben-Gvir stepped down as Benjamin Netanyahu's national security minister in protest at the planned release of Palestinian prisoners. Israel's far-right national security minister resigned from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Cabinet in fury over the Gaza ceasefire deal - warning it will "destroy all of Israel’s achievements." The resignation of Itamar Ben-Gvir does not threaten the ceasefire, but it does weaken Netanyahu's governing coalition. If other far-right lawmakers leave the government — as Ben-Gvir has encouraged them to do — the prime minister could lose his parliamentary majority, potentially forcing early elections.

USA - Joe Biden will leave the White House on Monday, as both the oldest man ever to leave the office and one of the country’s few one-term presidents. After standing down from the presidential race in July amid concerns about his age and health, Mr Biden has tried to define his legacy on the economy, foreign policy and domestic issues. Although he is on track to leave with the worst approval ratings of any president, the 82-year-old Democrat has both achievements and failures to his name. He will walk away with a presidential record – as the man who oversaw more jobs added to the US economy in his first three years in the Oval Office than any of his predecessors.

UK - A quick search of the “astrology” hashtag on TikTok brings up 4.5 million videos. Some explain why you might have been feeling depressed recently, some predict when Prince William will become King (late June), and others describe the best star signs in bed. More and more members of Generation Z, who make up the majority of TikTok’s users, have become interested in astrology. The trend is not only evident on social media, but also on astrology apps offering users daily horoscopes or advice. Co-Star, an American app that uses AI to combine Nasa data and content from astrologers, rose from 7.5 million global users in 2020 to 30 million in 2023.

USA - And it's not just American politics that are on the move. In the wake of Harris’ defeat, leftist parties in Canada, Australia, and Germany are already predicted to suffer similar losses in upcoming ballots. “The trend is up. There is no real reason to expect that it will stop anytime soon,” Professor Matthijs Rooduijn, a political scientist from the University of Amsterdam, told the outlet. In Canada, polls are already showing that its firebrand Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is the favorite to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after the lefty leader’s abrupt resignation earlier this month. Meanwhile, Australia’s conservative party has also inched ahead of its ruling progressive government prior to a planned election later this year, polls show.

GERMANY - The German chancellor denounced what he called the US tech billionaire’s support for the “far-right”. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has lashed out at what he called US tech billionaire Elon Musk’s interference in EU politics. The chancellor said that while he does not object to Musk expressing his opinions, he is concerned about the political groups he supports. In December, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO called the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) the only party capable of “saving Germany” and praised its anti-immigration stance, while calling Scholz an “incompetent fool.” The German leader hit back by saying Musk is seeking attention online, urging people to not “feed the troll.”

GERMANY - Nearly 50 business associations employing some 20 million people plan to take part in the work stoppage, the media outlet has reported. Dozens of major German business associations are planning a massive joint protest action later in January to show their dissatisfaction with the federal government’s economic policies, the Bild tabloid reported on Friday.

ISRAEL - Saturday was Kfir Bibas’s second birthday. If he is still alive, the baby who was snatched with his family from the Nir Oz kibbutz will be a toddler now. His brother, Ariel, will now be five. The Bibas children, their father Yarden and their mother, Shiri, who was last seen crying and clutching her two flame-haired children as they were taken into captivity, are on the list of hostages due to be released in phase one of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which begins at 6.30am GMT on Sunday.

ISRAEL - If Israel resumes fighting, it will do so with “great power,” the prime minister has warned. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to scuttle an impending ceasefire with Hamas if the Palestinian militant group does not provide a list of the Israeli hostages it will release in the first phase of the truce. Israel and Hamas agreed on Wednesday to end their 15-month conflict in Gaza, which has claimed the lives of over 1,700 Israelis and almost 47,000 Palestinians. The three-phase deal – which in its first stage will see Hamas trade 33 hostages for an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners – is set to take effect on Sunday, after it was approved by Netanyahu’s cabinet in the early hours of Saturday morning.